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| Harper and Brynn |
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| this was later when Molly got there so 3/4 is not bad...Grace, Tessa, Molly, Abby |
After getting lots of candy at the parade, we headed to games/booths at the park. The kids didn't do too many games actually, they are growing out of that a little. But they for sure got cotton candy! Stockton went with the boys to get lunch at McDonald's and then he found this Dr. Pepper T-shirt at Walmart.
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| Brynn, Ivy, Lucy |
Next up was swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house...literally for the rest of the day and night. Justin and Molly finally made it, yay! The kids took breaks from swimming only for dinner and some sparklers and continued to swim through the firework show. Happy 4th of July! I am grateful to live where and when I do. |
Brynn, Josie, Grace, Lucy, Ivy
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Seth, Harper, Ivy, Brynn
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| Josie, Harper, Molly, Lucy |
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Molly and Josie
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| Molly, Grace, Abby |
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| Lucy, Molly, Ivy, Abby |
Remember our friend and Christmas visitor, Steve, from China? He moved to LA right after Christmas and then Seattle and then Chicago I think? The one who showed up to church on Christmas Eve and then was baptized in March? Well he came back to Heber for a visit and we had to have him over. We also had the Powell's over, he is the Elder's Quorum President who first met Steve and has also stayed in touch. It was a great night of pizza and visiting. Steve tried hatchet-throwing, some baseball, and a few other things in the yard. We love his story and how he found the gospel and are grateful for the teeny-tiny part we played in that.
Fish Lake-
We (I) decided that some family time was in order and I was able to find a Sunday afternoon-Monday evening that would work for an "adventure". Somewhere we had never been but also not too far away since we only had the one night. I did some research and settled on Fish Lake. And then we were able to talk the Webb's into going with us. We left Sunday afternoon after meetings and drove down to Richfield to a VRBO that we were staying in. We had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner and then went out exploring to Fremont Indian State Park where we saw lots of hieroglyphics. Everything's always funnier (more funny?) with the Webb's and we had our fair share of laughs that night. We ended the night playing games and eating muddy buddies back at the house.
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| John and Ivy |
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John with the photo bomb
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Stockton, Brynn, Ivy, Kelton
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Brynn was the only one who could shimmy through the bars
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Brynn's point of view
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| Kelton and Stockton |
The next day was lake day, obviously. I have decided that a mountain lake is one of my favorite places to be so this was a perfect summer day. We had our paddle boards so we did that for a little bit. Stockton and Kelton started fishing right away. Then John and Justin decided to rent a fishing boat for the day so we spent the rest of the time out on the lake in the boat. The weather couldn't have been better, the scenery was beautiful, and the company was fabulous. Some of the kids got in the very frigid water. The dads hooked up one of the paddle boards behind the boat for some "water-skiing", and we just played and fished the day away. It was such a fun day and we soaked in as much as we could before taking the boat in and getting on our way home. We wanted to make the most of our time so we didn't get home until after 11:30 that night, but totally worth being a little sleep-deprived the next day.
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John, Molly, me, Ivy, Justin, Brynn, Jenny, Kelton, Stockton
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| Stockton, John, Kelton, Justin |
We were able to get together with our good friends from Spanish Fork, the Wood's and the Phillip's. The Woods still live in Spanish Fork but we only ever see them when the Phillip's come from Oregon and make the effort to set something up. We've actually had to miss seeing them the last few summers since we have had other things going on so I was happy we could make it work this year. It's so easy to pick right up like we've never been apart. Ivy was the only kid that could make it from our family and she really hit it off with Mikki, who is her same age. They became fast friends.
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Shauna Phillips, me, Kelli Wood
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Cory and Kelli, me and Justin, Roger and Shauna
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| Ivy and Mikki Wood |
Grandkid Camp-
Grandkid Camp was also back to its traditional event in Bear Lake (last year it was a quick over-nighter in Plain City). We were all planning on going but Molly got really sick so she and Justin stayed home while I took the rest of the kids. The kids had a blast but I admit I was less than enthusiastic. I put on a happy face but my heart was at home with Molly, who I was worried about, and Justin, who was leaving for his two weeks of school after the weekend. Anyway, this is how camp went-
We were a day late since Brynn chose not to miss cheer so we drove straight to the beach, where everyone else had been all day. We got there late afternoon and the kids were able to play for a while. Stockton had actually been able to go up early with cousins so he had already been there. They had found a new beach which was wonderful-a nice pavilion and a not-busy beach. The water had gotten choppy by the time we got there but that was perfect for some tube rides and swimming in the lake. We also cooked hamburgers for dinner and that was fun to be able to stay at the lake for dinner instead of trying to rush back and cook something at the cabin.
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Brynn and Harper
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| Lucy, Josie, Ivy |
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Brynn, Ivy, Harper
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| Stockton, Brynn, Grant |
The theme of camp was Olympics. I know the kids had done some stuff the night before to get ready for it. They had made team flags and stuff so that night was the torch relay and the opening ceremonies. Then free play and bed.
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| Abby, Seth, Spencer, Grace, Lucy, Tessa, Grandpa, Ivy, Josie, Stockton, Brynn, Grant, Harper, Gavin, Chloe |
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| Grant, Brynn, Josie, Lucy, Abby, Ivy, Gavin, Seth, Tessa, Grace, Harper, Stockton, Spencer, Chloe |
On Friday all the games began. My mom had the kids wear their 4th of July shirts for the day...you know, Olympics...go USA! Then she had several games planned for the kids and each event had a gold, silver, and bronze medal team. The kids were good sports about winning and not winning and they were honestly just happy to be there and be together.
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Ivy and Grace
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Chloe and Stockton
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Josie and Brynn
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| Stockton, Chloe, Harper |
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| Ivy and Grace |
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| Stockton and Spencer |
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Brynn and Josie
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| Grace, Ivy, Tessa, Seth, Gavin |
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| Grant, Lucy, Abby, Josie, Brynn |
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| Stockton, Harper, Spencer, Chloe |
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Lucy, Ivy, Josie, Harper, Brynn
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We left that night and caravan-ed down to Plain City. Lucy was getting baptized the next day and that was a special event we couldn't miss. We drove home after the baptism and it was so good to be home and with our other people. |
Ivy, Lucy, Brynn
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We were all dreading Justin going back to school this summer for his second year. He did his two weeks last year, passed his test at the end of that session, and finished his project in April...which ended up being a 145-page paper on credit union management stuff. Yes, that is the right number...145 pages...none of which he let me read, or even take a picture of the cover page. It was a brutal few weeks busting that out and quite the accomplishment. Anyway, whether or not we were happy about it, the time came for him to head back to California for his second year of school. In a nutshell, he lived in a dorm with a common bathroom, went to class everyday for 8 hours, ate food out of the cafeteria, and took a final at the end of the two weeks. As a bonus this year, he got Covid and had to quarantine for three days with nothing to do and didn't get two days of classes. But he made it through, passed the test, and we were all so relieved when it was over and he was home. Now onto Year 2 project, which will be due in April.
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| all AFCU peeps |
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Year 2 students
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I know I don't paint a pretty picture so I'll try to be positive. Free education is amazing and he's gaining so much more knowledge to help him be better at his job/career. He's met a lot of great people that he wouldn't have otherwise. This year his work best friend started as a first year so he got to spend a lot of time with him. He got to go to a Dodgers game and to Knott's Berry Farm on the weekend. So we try to be grateful for the experience, it's just hard to be separated for such a long time, especially for him to be away from home and living in the dorms.
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this is a fellow 2nd year from Washington that he met last year-he is an avid Braves fan and member of the church and he and Justin became fast friends
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Ivy wanted to make a treat one afternoon and chose chocolate cupcakes. She did all the measuring, pouring, baking, and frosting by herself and was so proud. And they turned out to be delicious!
Brynn is growing up...and growing into her new braces! She got them put on one Thursday morning and then went straight to cheer. She was sore for a few days but has adjusted like a champ. They estimate about 18 months in braces for Brynn so we will see. I think they make her look older!
Before:
After:
Ivy went through a slime obsession. We went to the store and bought supplies to make slime at home and then she made every color in the rainbow, and more! The "slime station" stayed out on the kitchen table for a couple of weeks and it provided hours of entertainment for her. I'm also positive that all of the other kids got their hands on the slime more than once as well.
Ivy wanted to go to the splash park. It took us a while to find a day that would work but we finally did and we were able to take London and Raina with us, along with Brynn and Shaylee. They had fun in the water and enjoyed some popsicles and then ended up planning a play on the grass. I'm not sure how far they got into that before we had to go but they did seem to have a good time.
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London Mathis, Raina Cottle, Ivy
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London, Ivy, Raina
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Ivy, London, Raina
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| Brynn and Shaylee Williams |
Stockton's third tournament of the summer had us at Park City High School one day and Timpanogas High School another. It was HOT, probably some of the hottest baseball games I have sat through. But we persevered, the boys worked hard, they came away with a couple of wins, but a couple of runs short of advancing to the final game. Stockton would have loved to play another game but I can honestly say I wasn't too disappointed to have to go home.
He was pretty tired after his double header on Friday and wanted to conserve energy for his double header on Saturday so I told him I would take him fishing that night. I thought that would be a nice way for him to relax but not be bored. Molly and Brynn were gone so I talked Ivy into going as well. I love going fishing, I find it very nice to sit in my camp chair on a summer evening and read my book. I stole a YA romance novel from Molly's room and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Stockton and Ivy were pretty self-sufficient and I had to drag Stockton away when it got so dark he absolutely could not see anything anymore.
It was Stockton's turn for a date with me in June. I did take him to eat between baseball games in June but didn't document it. I had another chance to get him some food in between his games on Saturday. It was early and hot so he didn't want a full meal and settled on a smoothie and a chick-fil-a sandwich. And I got a picture this time so it counted as our date.
We ended up playing my cousin's son that last Saturday game. He and Stockton are the same age but you would never be able to tell by just looking at them. They are on opposite ends of the size spectrum-Stockton being the smallest and Jackson being the biggest.
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Jackson Young and Stockton
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We had two Sundays without Justin when he was at school. One Sunday was full of meetings for me as is the case once in a while but the other Sunday was wide open and I knew I would go crazy if we just sat around at home. So I told the kids we were going exploring. I made a grilled chicken taco salad, packed it up, and headed out. We had gone camping at Currant Creek years and years ago, before we even lived in Heber, but we had never been back. I remember loving it. So I decided to drive up there. My maps app showed me it was only an hour drive. It was a little longer than an hour which was fine but about 45-50 minutes was a dirt road. So that was a bit of a pain but I was determined to get there. We did find the reservoir but not the campground. But we had fun anyway. Stockton fished, we ate, we napped and read books and played games. The drive home felt shorter and the views were very pretty.
Brynn and Ivy had lots of sleepovers with me when Justin was gone. They each got two nights on their own in my bed and they also slept on my floor together one night.
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When you realize you have no eggs, milk, cereal, or bread on Monday morning: you go get donuts and chocolate milk! Then you go to the store later that day and re-stock. Man, it's hard to keep food in the house when all the kids are home all day!
Brynn's been working hard on her tumbling and got her standing back tuck this summer. She's been close for a long time and just needed a final push and some courage-and she did it!
I spoiled this news already...Stockton got his learner's permit. He had done a few practice tests and had watched a YouTube video about everything he would need to know to pass the test so he felt confident-more confident than I felt for him. But I took him in and he took it twice and got it the second time. I didn't let him drive home that day but I try to let him drive anytime we are going somewhere and he's getting the hang of it. 11 months should be plenty of time for him to get really good and for me to get comfortable sending him out on his own.
Ivy was so happy to spend a day with her clogging buddy, Ali. They played at Ali's house for a couple of hours and then I picked them up and brought them home. They played in the pool a little so I had to get a picture. They are both so excited for clogging season to start back up and I'm really excited for them.
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Ivy, Ali Robinson
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Pioneer Day-
The tradition is to be with the Goodrich's for the 24th. Justin was gone but the rest of us could still go celebrate and have fun. Eric and Heidi invited us to spend the day with them in Oakley and at the reservoir there. Heidi's parents have a house in Oakley (which is currently empty since they are on a mission) so we met up there, played games, and enjoyed the view before heading to Smith and Morehouse and having fun on the lake for a few hours. We paddle boarded and swam and tried the rope swing. Stockton did some fishing. There were a lot of people there but it was quiet and peaceful out on the lake and we loved it. We went back to the house and had a delicious rib dinner and then we came home.
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| Stockton, Brynn's knees, Brett, Eli, Grandpa, Molly |
Pizza at the park on the last night Justin was gone. I had Ivy, Brynn, and Shaylee with me-we had picked up the pizza and were heading to the park. We were stopped at a red light and looked over and saw Hallie sitting with her mom in their car. So I rolled down the window, told them the plan, and Hallie was able to follow us right over. It was a funny coincidence! We went to Daniels Canyon Elementary park and it was completely empty.
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| Ivy, Hallie Whimpey, Brynn, Shaylee |
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Ivy, Hallie, Shaylee, Brynn
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I actually took Stockton straight from our 24th party in Oakley to meet Jeff and his boys and Spencer and Bryce for backpacking. Someday Justin will get to do this again but it hasn't worked with his schedule the last several years, unfortunately. But Stockton always looks forward to going. They went somewhere in the Uintah's and they caught a lot of fish. That's basically all I got. When I asked Stockton to send me pictures, I got a picture of this meadow and one of every fish he caught-18 different photos for 18 different fish.
Ivy went to Kallie's "Christmas in July" birthday party. The girls wore Christmas jammies and watched a Christmas movie. And look how cute they had decorated their basement for the party. Ivy had a great time. |
| I only know the girls on the fireplace: London Mathis, Kallie Gehring, Lydia Evans, Ivy |
On the last day of July, we celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. This must not be missed. It had been a busy day: school shopping with Brynn and Ivy, parent meeting for soccer, baseball scrimmage in Provo, and then a budget meeting for a guy I do some bookkeeping for. Ivy made all the butterbeers when she was home and I was gone but Stockton got home late and had his then-so he got the picture for documentation sake. 
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